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S ^OUVENip 




92ARDS 
SAY 



Should old acquaintance be forgot. 
And never brought to mind? 



ORLEANS, MASS. 
1913 






COPYRIGHT. 1914, BY THE AUTHOR 



ADDRESS. B. SHERMAN 

1849 WASHINGTON BOULEVARD 

CHICAGO. ILL. 



PRICE, SO CENTS 

, JliN29l9l4 
^CI,A3^4670 



A LETTER FROM CAPE COD. 

Orleans, Mass., Sept. 25th, 1913. 

Dear Friend: — 

Having recently visited, on Cape Cod, the 
home of my youthful days, it occurred to me 
that a few reminiscences, historical and other- 
wise, might interest you for a moment. So that 
is why this letter is written. 

Cape Cod is of historic interest, it being the 
scene of the earliest settlement in New England. 
It is only a little strip of land stretching out into 
the Atlantic Ocean, and called, because of its 
peculiar shape, the Right Arm of Massachu- 
setts. Extending from Provincetown, the tip 
of the Cape, to Buzzard's Bay, where it joins 
the body, is a distance of about seventy miles. 
From whatever direction the winds that sweep 
across this peninsula may come, they originate 
in the vast domain of "King Neptune," the At- 
lantic Ocean, and they are pure, clear and invig- 
orating. 

The historic interest of Cape Cod dates from 
November 11th, 1620, when the "Mayflower" 
anchored in Provincetown Harbor, and from her 
cabin was issued the famous Compact signed 

5 



by the Pilgrim Fathers. This epoch-making 
document reads as follows: 

"In the name of God, Amen. 

"We whose names are underwritten, the loyal sub- 
jects of our dread sovereign lord, King James, by the 
grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, 
King, defender of the faith, etc., have undertaken for 
the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian 
faith and honor of our King and country a voyage to 
plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, 
do by these presents solemnly and mutually, in the 
presence of God and of one another, covenant and com- 
bine ourselves into a civil body politic, for better order- 
ing and preservation and furtherance of the ends afore- 
said, and by virtue hereof, do enact, constitute and 
frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, con- 
stitutions and offices, from time to time, as shall be 
thought most meet and convenient for the general 
good of the colony, unto which we promise all due sub- 
mission and obedience. 

"In witness whereof, we have hereunder subscribed 
our names at Cape Cod, the 11th day of November, in 
the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord, King 
James of England, France and Ireland, the Eighteenth, 
and of Scotland, the Fifty-fourth, Anno Domini 1630." 

The Compact was signed by forty-one per- 
sons. For particulars, names and order of sign- 
ing, see Freeman's History of Cape Cod. 

In seeking a location for a permanent settle- 
ment the Pilgrims explored the coast in small 
boats from Provincetown Harbor to Plymouth, 

6 



where they decided to locate. Tradition says 
that on their first journey they landed at Bishop's 
Bluff, now in Eastham, where they camped over 
night, and, finding corn buried by the Indians, 
took some of it. Observing this, the watching 
Indians shot at them, using bows and arrows. 
The Pilgrims replied with shot-guns, and the 
Indians ran away in fear. It is claimed that this 
bluff" is the first battle-ground in New England 
on which white men and Indians contended. Al- 
though no blood was shed, it was the beginning 
of a struggle which continued until a nation of 
red man had been practically annihilated. This 
bluff was on the land of the Nauset tribe of 
Indians. 

On the 16th of December, 1620, the Mayflower 
sailed from her anchorage at Provincetown for 
the site selected, only a few miles distant. The 
Indians were on friendly terms with the settlers 
for many years, and even marriages were con- 
summated between the members of Plymouth 
Colony and the dusky maidens of the Indian 
tribes. Mr. John Rolfe and Miss Pocahontas, 
of Virginia, were not the only couple that origi- 
nated ''first families." Similar alliances were 
contracted on Cape Cod and all along the shore 
in Massachusetts. The Indians remained friendly 
with the settlers until King Philip's War. 



In 1644 the Pilgrims decided to move to Nau- 
set, the residence of Gov. Thomas Prince being 
there, and Plymouth was almost deserted. The 
government of the colony also was established 
at Naiiset, and in 1657 the name was changed 
to Eastham. Gov. Prince was a man of unusual 
ability, and the Indians of Nauset paid him great 
respect. After many years of honest and faith- 
ful service to the people, he died in 1673. 

In moving their colony to another site the 
Pilgrims profited by experience, and so selected 
a safer location, though they doubtless were in- 
fluenced by other considerations also. The Nau- 
set tribe, as a whole, remained friendly to the 
settlers in spite of severe laws that continued to 
be made and enforced against them. There is 
no question about the discontent of the Indian 
tribes and their depredations against the as- 
sumed rights of the colony. Although it is 
claimed that the settlers paid for all the privi- 
leges they enjoyed, they made laws to govern, 
not only themselves, but the Indians. The latter 
found these laws oppressive, and this brought on 
King Philip's war in 1675-6. 

This war was an attempt to exterminate the 
white settlers, which, though futile, caused them 
much loss of life and property. Philip had suc- 
ceeded in uniting all the tribes of Indians along 

8 



the coast from Maine to New York, for he was 
the one to whom they looked to free them from 
the oppression they had suffered by laws, fines, 
imprisonment, slavery and executions for trivial 
offenses. And who can say they were not right 
in their stand? King Philip's war has been 
called a cruel war. All wars are cruel, and free- 
dom, justice and right have always had to be 
fought for, entailing suffering, privation and loss 
of many lives. The only difference that we can 
see between this war and our war of 1776 was 
that the Indians lost. Both of them were pro- 
tests against injustice and oppression. It seems 
that an inferior race must disappear before a 
superior one. The question often arises in one's 
mind, Can this all be by the ordering of Divine 
Love or the just God? If so, then all that is, or 
has been, is right, including wars, pestilence, 
bloodshed and suffering. 

It has been claimed, because of their success in 
wars, that God was on the side of the white men, 
making no allowance for their superior death- 
dealing weapons, or the number of men in the 
battle on either side. Can one in reason agree 
with the old prophet, who says that God is ''of 
purer eyes to behold evil, and canst not look on 
iniquity," and that ''Neither doth God respect 
any person"? Are mortals left to take care 

9, 



of themselves according to circumstances over 
which they have but sHght control, and must 
they suffer for the errors or mistakes they make 
through ignorance? We leave these questions 
for the theologian to settle. 

From the close of King Philip's war for a 
hundred years, comparative peace prevailed. 
Ship? were built and sailed on every ocean, creat- 
ing a vast commerce with all nations. There 
were also launched hundreds of fishing vessels, 
of from fifty to one hundred tons burden, that 
yearly anchored on the Grand Banks of New- 
foundland for cod fishing, riding out the storms 
and gales there, and Cape Cod was almost de- 
serted by the men during the summer months. 
This was a school of experience, providential or 
otherwise, that made able seamen and good sail- 
ors, ready for coming events. 

In the latter part of the Seventeenth Century 
the manufacture of salt was begun in every town 
on the Cape. It had the reputation of being the 
best salt ever used for flesh or fish, and sold for 
one dollar per bushel. When the tariff was re- 
moved from foreign salt, however, the price 
dropped to twenty-five cents. This was a great 
loss to the salt industry, but the manufacture 
continued until 1865 or thereabout, when the 



10 



works were removed. The process of salt-mak 
ing is as follows : 

They first take a string of pans six to eight 
inches deep, twelve to fourteen feet wide, and 
from 250 to 300 feet long, and divided into 
five compartments, each a little above the next, 
in order to drain the water from one to another 
in succession at the right stage in the process. 
The pans are also covered with doors, so-called, 
to open and close according to the weather. In 
order to avoid the appearance of rust in the salt 
when finished, no nails are used in the construc- 
tion of the pans. The salt is deposited through 
evaporation. Salt water is pumped directly 
from the ocean by a windmill into the water vat. 
When settled it is drawn to the next, or pickle 
vat. From this it flows to the next, or lime vat, 
where lime forms on the bottom of the pan, and 
then it is drawn into the salt vat, where salt 
forms in cubes, both small and large, according 
to the time given. The process through the 
works is one of purification. When this is fin- 
ished the salt is raked up and ready for the mar- 
ket. The residue, from which epsom salts and 
magnesia are manufactured, is drawn into the 
"bitter room." The whole process is simple and 
requires but little attention. The wind-mill and 
the sun do about all the work. 

IX 



In the earlier days the shores were dotted all 
along with wind-mills for pumping the ocean 
water, and these were a very attractive and in- 
teresting addition to the landscape. Now they 
have all disappeared, as is inevitable in the realm 
of matter and change. 

Prominent men of the Cape towns took no 
small part in the government of the colony of 
Massachusetts after the year 1690, when Ply- 
mouth colony was united with it. For the next 
eighty years emigration from Europe largely in- 
creased, states were formed, prosperity in many 
ways prevailed, and the people were compara- 
tively happy. During this period, however, 
Great Britain imposed oppressive laws, taxes, 
and other demands, various in their nature, upon 
the colonies. This went on until ''patience ceased 
to be a virtue." In the latter part of the Seven- 
teenth Century a limit was reached, after many 
petitions and supplications to the home govern- 
ment for relief had failed. Then came the stir- 
ring events of 1775-6, culminating in the issuance 
of the immortal Declaration of Independence. 

The Continental Congress was formed in New 
York in 1765, and a compact for united protec- 
tion was drawn up, in which thirteen states 
joined. Evidently there was a premonition of 
coming trouble, owing to the growing discon- 

12 



tent in the minds of the people under the oppres- 
sive measures put in operation in the name of 
King George the Third. The following ten 
years were "times that tried men's souls." Many 
overt acts of resistance were committed against 
the laws for revenue and the establishment of a 
high tarifif which would increase the cost of liv- 
ing. The courts of the different states all had 
to obey the mandates of King George, and their 
decisions were against the people. The latter 
organized as ''Sons of Liberty" and took the law 
into their own hands. They called forth the 
judges and other officers of the courts, and, nail- 
ing up the windows and closing the doors, left 
this notice, "This court is no longer in session or 
authority." These courts have remained closed 
ever since. 

In addition to taxes, there was in force a law 
that all offenders against certain laws should be 
sent to England for trial. This exasperated the 
people on the Eastern Coast, and none more so 
than the fishermen of Cape Cod, who participated 
in active opposition to the burdens forced upon 
them by the Mother Country. 

The Declaration of Independence may prop- 
erly be called the second declaration for liberty 
and freedom since the landing of the Pilgrim 
Fathers, for we have already mentioned that the 

13 



first was issued by King Philip. Indian wars 
have continued down to our own day, and they 
have resulted in the destruction of tribe after 
tribe of those who fought for the same underly- 
ing principles that our forefathers fought for, 
viz., freedom and liberty. The objects of these 
wars were similar as being against oppression 
and injustice; but the results were different. 
The Indian lost and the Anglo-Saxon won; but 
can we not justly recognize that King Philip's 
was the first declaration for freedom and liberty 
in North America, without detracting from the 
honor of the fathers of 1776? Would it not also 
be fitting to erect a monument to King Philip as 
an apostle of freedom? 

There is an interesting parallel in the fact that 
there was a division of sentiment among Indian 
tribes in relation to the various wars. Some 
tribes and some individuals took part with the 
settlers and were also of great assistance in our 
struggle for liberty. Americans were divided in 
sentiment as between Whigs and Tories. The 
Tories emigrated to Canadian reservations, 
thereby assisting the American rebels by their 
absence. For particulars and incidents imme- 
diately preceding the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, see Freeman's "History of Cape Cod" 
and Bacon's "Plistorical New England." 



In the War of 1812 there were many priva- 
teers commissioned to prey upon the commerce 
of England, and some that were not commis- 
sioned by the government, but altogether they 
were a great annoyance to the English, and many 
hundred prizes were taken. After the war some 
of these non-commissioned vessls hoisted the 
black flag of piracy and preyed upon the commerce 
of all nations, making it dangerous, for many 
years, for ships to pass the eastern coast of Flor- 
ida, its island reefs, and the West Indies, with- 
out being armed to some extent. The little in- 
lets and islands were noted retreats for pirate 
vessels constantly watching for shipwrecks and 
plunder. Merchant ships had painted ports, giv- 
ing them an appearance of war ships. That 
style of ornamentation passed out of use years 
ago, and now that kind of ships have also passed 
away like dew before the sun. It was a mystery 
to many what had become of them. The solution 
is that the Norwegians and Swedes own and use 
many of them. Some have been cut down and 
are used as barges. We often see two or three 
in tow by a powerful steamer or tug passing 
around Cape Cod, and this reminds one how 
methods have been revolutionized. It means 
economy in transportation, and sailors are no 
longer needed. A few scientific men, versed in 

15 



intricate machinery and the use of steam, are all 
that are required. It is the sunrise of progres- 
sion in the economy of human endeavor in the 
use of steam and electricity for light and power 
on sea and land. Without a doubt it means the 
material uplifting of mankind as well as their 
spiritual progress. When wars shall be known 
no more, "they shall beat their swords into plow- 
shares, and their spears into pruning hooks." 
The War of 1812 brought over from Old Eng- 
land to her departed sons a fleet of war ships to 
try the skill of the Yankee's new navy. In sev- 
eral contests the Yankees took first-class prizes. 
They knew what the contest was about. They 
flew at masthead a flag bearing the device, "Free 
trade and sailors' rights." We have often won- 
dered if the men who were pressed into the Eng- 
lish navy from American ships on the high seas 
did not fire over the opposing vessel instead of 
at it. Our prizes were much more numerous than 
those taken by the English, and not because of 
superior ability of the Americans, for English 
sailors were rated to be as good as any that sailed 
the sea. It is true, however, that the Americans 
could handle a ship under any circumsances. 
Sailors from Cape Cod fishermen and merchant- 
men manned the Constitution and other ships of 
the American navy. They knew every knot and 

i6 



rope in a ship, from a bowline to the pennant hal- 
yards at the masthead. 

Great suffering was experienced by the people 
of Cape Cod during the War of 1812. They 
were deprived of their greatest source of income ; 
for their fishing fleets w^ere idle in the various 
harbors on the coast; their seamen in the mer- 
chant service were laid up at home, and it was 
with great difficulty they could get supplies for 
daily needs. They had to resort to smuggling- 
goods from Boston in small boats, running the 
blockades maintained by the English fleet sta- 
tioned at Provincetown Harbor. The latter used 
small craft or fishing vessels which they had cap- 
tured to watch the shores of Cape Cod Bay, and 
it was dangerous business to run the blockade. 
It was generally done between two days, and 
many successful trips were made. When I was 
a small boy, my mother related the story of the 
capture of two blockade runners — Captain Hop- 
py Mayo and Captain Winslow L. Knowles of 
Eastham — and, as she was a relative of Captain 
Knowles, it was told with an earnestness that 
inspired one with a desire to get a gun and fight 
the English. This impulse I have now lost, and 
so the English navy is safe. 

These two men were taken to an English war 
ship lying in Provincetown Harbor. In a few 

17 



days a price was offered for their ransom, and 
Captain Knowles was paroled to get it. In the 
meantime Captain Mayo was taken as a pilot to 
guide a cruiser over the shoals and dangerous 
places. Being a good pilot, he knew where it 
was safe to go, and in a sudden storm he ran the 
vessel ashore on the sandbars of Eastham, high 
and dry at low tide, a mile from shore, and made 
prisoners of a crew of about thirty officers and 
men. This enraged the commander of the Eng- 
lish fleet in Provincetown, and he demanded that 
the town officers return Captain Mayo to his ship 
as a prisoner. Hoppy refused to go, and in the 
meantime he took the arms and ammunition 
from the wrecked vessel to his house and with 
them a small cannon. 

The next order was a tax on the different 
towns for a certain amount of money to pay for 
Captain Hoppy 's outrage, the enemy threaten- 
ing as an alternative to land a force and burn 
the salt works and residences. But Captain 
Hoppy fortified his house and cut portholes 
through the sides. Having thus made ready for 
guests, he sent the commander a polite invitation 
to come and take him if he wanted to. Eastham 
paid the tax, about a thousand dollars. Orleans, 
the adjoining town, refused to pay, the citizens 
declaring that they would fight first. In a few 

i8 



days word came to be on the lookout for a boat- 
load of soldiers that had started from the Eng- 
lish ship, and a company of men and boys as- 
sembled at the shore, armed and equipped for bat- 
tle. It was then low tide. The men resorted to 
a fish house or barn, and spent the time playing 
"Old Sledge" or "High, Low, Jack and the 
Game." 

My father was then a lad of fourteen. One 
of the boys, armed with a gun or cutlass, was 
stationed to watch for the English boat, and 
sure enough at the flood tide it appeared round- 
ing Billingsgate Point. Intense excitement pre- 
vailed. The boat came to Rock Harbor Creek, 
where a few shots were exchanged. The dead 
and wounded in this fight were never counted, 
although it was thought that one or two soldiers 
were hit by bullets from the men on the beach. 
The boat then turned and went back to the ship 
in Provincetown. Thus ended the famous battle 
of Rock Harbor Creek, for the enemy never ap- 
peared again, and the salt works were preserved 
until about 1855-6, when they were removed for 
natural reasons. 

The war soon closed and what remained of 
King George's ships sailed back to England. Since 
then regattas between the two nations for prizes 
have been of a more peaceful nature. Sir Thomas 

19 



Lipton, the noted tea merchant, has made several 
attempts to capture the prize from the American 
yachtsmen, but has failed. He is coming again 
to try his luck next year. I hope lie will win the 
])rize this time. The pleasure and interest he 
has created for the people is sufficient compen- 
sation to us. His tea is received and used all 
over this country without prejudice, malice or 
complaint, although it has not been soaked in 
the waters of Boston Harbor. He deserves a 
\'ictory and the prize this time, and my sympathy 
is with him. Hurrah for Lipton and his tea! 

Directly after peace was declared the fishing 
vessels, merchant ships, whalers and other craft 
were put into commission, and could sail the seas 
with none to molest or make them afraid. "Free 
trade and sailor's rights" had been won. Vessels 
coukl not be built fast enough to supply the de- 
mand. 

In the fifties, ship building reached a limit. 
Ship yards were a1:)andoned, and have remained 
so ever since. The "Iron Age" for ships dawned 
upon us, and we can say good bye to old times 
and old sailors. The world at large is in a period 
of progression, both spiritually and materially, 
and truth, right and justice will finally prevail. 

For the last eighty years the writer has been 
somewhat familiar with life and progress on 

20 



Cape Cod. Many wonderful changes are now in 
evidence there. A resident of seventy years ago 
can hardly recognize old and familiar places. 
The old folks have passed into the Great Un- 
known. The salt works are gone; sailors and 
fishing fleets are no more. A new generation 
and strange faces meet the view of the visitor, 
and a sense of loneliness steals over one. 

In the olden time, when the fishing fleet re- 
lumed in the fall from the Grand Banks, Straits 
of Belle Isle, Gulf of St. Lawrence and the north- 
ern coasts, there was great rejoicing and a gen- 
eral welcome to all. Should one of the fleet be 
missing, which was the case sometimes, the 
watching with doubt and fear was distressing 
cind cast a shadow of gloom over the community. 
A man's life then was of interest to all. Captain 
William Sherman, of Orleans, told the writer 
that he had been making trips to the Grand 
Banks for thirty years without a break, and 
never lost a man or met with any serious acci- 
dent, making his home there, anchored between 
two seas, for several months each year. He was 
one of the first, if not the first, to approach the 
Rocks on the Banks to fish. They are without 
doubt the summit of a mountain in the ocean 
depths. The sea has been known to break there 
in heavy weather, and is given a wide berth by 

21 



vessels crossing the Atlantic. There he found 
the surface of the Atlantic covered with codfish 
drunk to insensibility, feeding on a small fish 
called caplin. The codfish were hooked up with- 
out further trouble until the decks were covered. 
As a health resort there is nothing equal to 
the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. In this con- 
nection, I am reminded of the following story: 
A young man from Vermont, not in good health, 
was advised by his doctor to go on a fishing trip. 
Men being scarce, he soon found a "Grand 
Banker" ready to sail at high tide. He asked 
for a chance to work his passage. ''Oh, yes," the 
captain said, "and all the addition needed to your 
wardrobe will be an oil suit and a 'sou' wester'." 
"And what is a 'sou' wester'?" the young man 
inquired. The fisherman rephed: "It is a kind 
of a hat we wear to keep the rain and salt water 
from running down our necks." The young man 
took his dress suit with him, intending to go to 
church Sundays on the Grand Banks. The near- 
est land to the Banks is Cape Race, five hundred 
miles away. The young man saw no land until 
four months later, when he returned to the spot 
from which he had sailed. But he returned a 
healthy man and why not? Both the water and 
the air are pure, and most of the time there is 
plenty of them. No dust or microbes are flying 
there. 

22 



Cape Cod is noted for the many shipwrecks 
which have occurred on its eastern coast. The 
ship "Sparrow Hawk," which sailed from Eng- 
land for Virginia in 1627, was wrecked in the 
inlet of what is now known as Chatham Harbor. 
This is one of the only two inlets on the eastern 
coast of the Cape, the other being at Nauset, be- 
tween Eastham and Orleans. The ship lay there 
in the meadows for two hundred and thirty-six 
years, the shifting sands covering her from 
sight until 1863, when her remains came to view 
on the outside coast, and she again faced the 
troubled waters of the Atlantic. The meadows 
where she lay extend from Chatham to Orleans, 
a distance of about ten miles, with a channel or 
creek passing through them to Pleasant Bay in 
Orleans. This bay is a large body of water 
"where the tides ebb and flow twice in twenty- 
four hours" as regularly as in the ocean. The 
highland of the bay are dotted with fine buildings 
for summer residences. The meadows from 
Chatham to Orleans were called "The Old Ship 
Meadows" until the significance of the title was 
lost to memory by the passing generations. 

Soon after the remains of the "Sparrow Hawk" 
were discovered, she was exhumed and her frame 
was set up and exhibited on Boston Common 
under a canvas tent, an admission fee of ten 

23 



cents being charged. A portion of her frame 
is now in Pilgrim Hall at Plymouth, for she has 
always been considered a Pilgrim ship. Upon 
being rescued from the wreck, her cargo, passen- 
gers and crew were taken to Plymouth and the 
survivors were provided for during the winter 
that was near at hand. In the spring land was 
assigned to them for raising corn. Corn and rye 
bread were generally used in those days. Wheat- 
flour bread was considered a luxury, and was 
used but once a year — on Thanksgiving day — and 
it was a luxury compared to some samples of 
factory bread that we get nowadays, a loaf of 
which, fresh at night, would be sufficiently light 
to blow away in the morning. 

The English Frigate "Somerset" was a noted 
wreck on Cape Cod. This vessel was active at 
the Battle of Bunker Hill, covering the landing 
of the British troops and raining shot and shell 
upon the Americans. After the evacuation of 
Boston on June 14th, 1777. the "Somerset" was 
chased by a French war ship, and was wrecked 
on the shoals of Picked Hill bars east of Province- 
town, or Truro, on the ocean side of the Cape. 
Four hundred and eighty men were made pris- 
oners from the wreck and were taken to Boston. 
The changing sands buried the "Somerset" from 
the sight of man for more than a hundred years, 

24 



until a heavy gale removed the sand and resur- 
rected her remains, and from them many arti- 
cles were made for keepsakes. Her ribs and 
planking- had become almost petrified — black and 
hard. The peculiarity of her construction was 
her planking-, hewn from the trunks of trees to 
a uniform thickness. To the uneven edge of 
each plank another plank was fitted, making the 
calking seam not straight, but like the track of a 
dizzy man — irregular and with curves — with 
slight trimming on the Qclgi^ to save the strength 
or durability of the plank. 

In the winter of 1832-3 the brig "Java," with 
a cargo of cofifee, was wrecked on Nauset Beach. 
The cargo was thrown overboard in order to free 
the vessel from the position she was in. The cof- 
fee was free to anyone that would take it away. 
My father got a boatload, and in it there were 
nutmegs, loose in the coffee. I ate some of these, 
and came near losing my life as a result. The 
doctor was called and succeeded in saving mc. 
There was not a drug store in town, and the only 
medicine to l)e olnained was what the doctor car- 
ried on horsel)ack in saddle bags. It consisted 
of simple remedies from roots and herbs, pow- 
dered jalap, lobelia, cayenne pepper and epsom 
salts. Appendicitis had not been discovered in 
those days, and the only surgical implements in 

25 



use were a pocket knife, to cut around a tooth, a 
pair of pincers to pull it out, and a lancet to bleed 
the patient. They don't do that now. These 
methods have been discontinued for some years, 
and this shows progression in surgical and med- 
ical science, clearly demonstrating the fact that it 
is not necessary to take a patient's life in order 
to save it. 

To one sailing along the eastern coast of Cape 
Cod, it does not present an inviting appearance. 
There are no signs of life or vegetation. Sand 
dunes alone meet the view. With the exception 
of an occasional life-saving station, the Marconi 
wireless telegraph towers at Wellfleet, and the 
Pilgrim Monument at Provincetown, it is a 
dreary, barren landscape. About forty miles 
east of the Cape is Georgia's Banks, noted for 
cod and halibut fishing, and Nantucket Island is 
about twenty-five miles south. Because of the 
noted changes that have taken place, since the 
landing of the early settlers, in the conformation 
of the coast line of the Cape, it is a supposition in 
the minds of many people that both Georgia's 
Banks and Nantucket were formerly connected 
with the Cape by high land, rising above the 
waters; yet the "right arm of Massachusetts" is 
still held in a defiant position against the raging 
and encroaching waves of the Atlantic that have 

26 



no obstruction for three thousand miles. Be- 
tween Provincetown and Truro there is an un- 
usual depression in the land, and at this point 
there is half a mile between the Atlantic and 
Provincetown Harbor. Evidently it is only a 
question of time when this weak spot will yield 
to the force and power of wind and wave, the 
harbor will be destroyed, and Provincetown will 
become an island, sinking finally with its Pilgrim 
Monument below the surface of the sea. At any 
rate, such is the opinion of scientific men, who 
say this result is inevitable. The government, 
has spent large sums of money to protect the city 
and harbor of Provincetown, because of the weak- 
ness of this narrow neck of land. At present 
there is no immediate necessity of getting an ark 
of safety to pick up the swimmers. Human hands 
are futile and trifling against the encroachments 
of nature, and we can wait with patience a few 
thousand years for such a calamity. 

Previous to the introduction of anthracite coal 
on the Cape for domestic use, the people depended 
upon the forest of pitch pine and oak trees and 
upon peat bogs for fuel. The forests were, in 
time, entirely cleared away and fairly good farms 
for corn and rye took their place, until the land 
was exhausted and became so depreciated that it 
was not worth even the taxes. Fences were 

27 



moved and the farms became what were known 
as "general fields," without private owners. In 
these fields some seeds from trees like those of the 
original forest were naturally or artificially sown, 
and from a few trees thus started, a "second 
growth" of timber has spread with wonderful 
rapidity in places naturally adapted for the 
growth of trees, effecting, within the last few 
decades, a great change in the landscape. The 
peat bogs are filled in with sand, and cranberry 
gardens now take their place, presenting a sight 
beautiful to behold. Old swamps have been 
cleared for the same purpose. Last year ten 
thousand barrels of cranberries were shipped 
from Brewster alone, and this industry is taking 
on larger proportions yearly. 

These rapid changes taking place cause us to 
look on in wonder. Cape Cod is again being 
dressed in her virgin suit of evergreen, and the 
old general fields are springing into newness of 
life, with forests of pine and oak. It seems but 
a day when the}' presented only a picture of de- 
])ressing barrenness. Roads have been greatly 
improved. There is a road from Provincetown 
to Boston, a distance of one hundred and twenty- 
five miles, composed of a mixture of petroleum 
and sand, which is hard and smooth. This is a 
State road, so-called. The State builds a mile 

28 






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in each town, the town building the balance, and 
the whole is kept in repair by the State. It is 
really an "Appian Way" on Cape Cod. The 
cross-roads are being finished in the same man- 
ner by the towns. With an automobile it takes 
but a few hours to make the distance from Pro- 
\incetown to Boston. 

The landscape of the region is now very at- 
tractive to the visitor. Many fresh-water ponds 
are supplied by springs, pure and clear, with no 
sewage from any direction to contaminate them. 
The ponds are a great resort for ducks and other 
fowl that require fresh water. Thousands of 
them resort there at night and fly out in the morn- 
ing. These ponds are a hunters' paradise in the 
spring and fall months. They are also well 
stocked with fish of various kinds. Herring 
come regularly each year to the ponds that have 
a drain or outlet connecting them with the ocean, 
and large quantities are taken. There are two 
inlets on the east coast of the Cape that connect 
with the ocean. At Nauset Harbor, the bound- 
ary line between Eastham and Orleans, the inlet, 
with a channel through the meadows, connects 
with the salt pond in Eastham. On the other 
hand, it forms the noted Town Cove in Orleans, 
where the tide rises and falls in unison with the 
ocean. The inlet at Chatham is governed by the 

29 



same conditions as at Nauset — a channel through 
the marshes uniting with Pleasant Bay in Or- 
leans, which is a beautiful sheet of water for 
bathing and boating. All of these bays, coves, 
creeks and channels are stocked with shell fish, 
and are often swarming with schools of bass, 
blue fish and mackerel from the ocean. 

In the days of the Pilgrim Fathers, forests sur- 
rounded this territory and wild game were plen- 
ty. Having all these generous gifts of nature, is 
it any wonder that the Indian believed in an ideal 
hunting ground hereafter? 

There is one view for the visitor on the east 
coast of the Cape that never can be forgotten. 
Like bridges, the ocean waves are adorned with 
white caps, as they break along the shore contin- 
ually and forever, filling the mind of the be- 
holder with wonder and reverence. 

Cape Cod houses are usually in a good state 
of preservation. Those built a hundred years ago 
or more are still sound, showing age to some ex- 
tent, but habitable. This is attributed to the non- 
destructible character of the Cape Cod atmos- 
phere. The architecture of the old houses may 
be out of date, but they will serve for another 
generation or two, and are an interesting feature 
of the landscape. The new cottages being built 
are also attractive. They are situated among the 

30 



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o5 




trees, and are generally painted white with green 
blinds. Among them is many a "sailor's snug 
harbor," safe from the ocean storms. Here you 
will find "old sea dogs," as the captains who have 
sailed the seas for many years are often called — 
men who have walked the quarter deck of many a 
fine ship, monarchs of all they surveyed, giving 
orders that sailors must obey. Here you will 
find also the good wife, who has in the captain's 
mind, always been second in command, who has 
suffered in her mind with doubt, fear and anxiety, 
as much as he, in all the tornadoes, storms and 
gales, wondering where he was likely to be. Now 
a change has come over the situation ; she may be 
a suffragette. If so, you will find her walking 
the kitchen floor, mistress of all she surveys, giv- 
ing orders that the captain obeys. 

Formerly there were grain mills, one or two in 
each town, for the purpose of grinding corn and 
rye. These are now no more, except for a few 
that were left by public-spirited owners for the 
pleasure and interest of visitors and coming gen- 
erations. These mills are copies of the mills of 
Holland, the Pilgrim Fathers having become 
familiar with them during their sojourn in that 
country. They are large, compact and monu- 
mental in design, and add much to the interest 
of the view, especially when in operation, for 

31 



they are located upon the higher elevations of 
land. Cape Cod seems to be somewhat unique in 
uniting the old with the new, both in architecture 
and society. Interest is centered for visitors and 
dwellers on the Cape in both land and sea, and 
as we continue with this letter it is almost im- 
possible to keep from slipping, in imagination, 
from the land into the ocean. 

In going through the historic town of East- 
ham, we passed the spot of the stockade and the 
old residence of Gov. Prince, of Plymouth Colony. 
Near by was the residence of Rev. Philander 
Shaw, spoken of in Freeman's "History of Cape 
Cod." When a lad I heard him preach, but not a 
word remains in memory, though I do recall 
something of his personality, A little farther on 
was the ancient cemetery, where lie the remains 
of the Rev. Samuel Treat. The slate tablet on 
which his epitaph is engraved has been removed 
to Orleans and imbedded in the walls of the town 
library there, and in its place has been substituted 
a simple marble slab. The tablet reads as follows :' 

"Here lies interred ye body of ye late 
Samuel Treat, ye pious and faithful pastor 
of this church, who after a very zealous dis- 
charge of his ministry for ye space of 45 
years of laborious travel for ye souls of ye 
Indian natives fell asleep in Christ. 
32 



"March ye 18, 1716, in ye 69th year of his 
age." 

No doubt the Indians were given good advice 
and instruction as to how to save their souls, but 
there is no account of their being instructed as 
to how to save their material inheritance. Child- 
like, they parted with their land for a few beads 
and other trinkets of no value, until they became 
so poor that they had no place to lay their heads, 
except on a government reservation. Whether 
this is a providential plan or not, I leave for the 
reader to decide. 

The Indian is simple in his nature and fond of 
ornaments and pretty things. A friend of mine 
was in St. Paul, Minnesota, many years ago in- 
troducing a new style of doorplate and other ad- 
vertising signs. When he had fully canvassed 
the city it occurred to him to sell his samples to 
the Indians, who were camping near by. The 
next day the people of St. Paul were astonished 
and amused by the sight of the Indians wearing 
"Thompson," "Smith," and "Jones" doorplates 
suspended from their necks. 

There are but few descendants of the various 
original Indian tribes of the Cape still living. 
There are some at Gay Head, on Martha's Vine- 
yard, and a few at Marspee, Massachusetts. Tra- 
dition gives us the following little story : An old 

33 



Indian Chief had three daughters — EHzabeth, 
Martha and Nan. To EHzabeth he gave what 
are now called Elizabeth Islands; to Martha he 
gave Martha's Vineyard. The last island in the 
group he said "Nan took it," and this is now 
called Nantucket. To indulge a little in romance 
and imagination: These islands may have been 
given as marriage portions. Who knows? Nan 
may have been the original suffragette of ye an- 
cient days, and took all that was left. No doubt 
they were all lovely Indian maidens. For fur- 
ther information see Longfellow. 

It is but a few years since Cape Cod became 
noted as a desirable resort for health and pleas- 
ure during the summer months, yet it has al- 
ready become popular. Old houses have been 
repaired, and many new cottages have been built 
on the shores, coves and highlands, commanding 
good views of the bays and ocean. Some have 
been erected by old residents, others by strangers, 
and some are built for permanent residences, thus 
increasing land values to a considerable extent. 
Although the Single Tax is not popular here, 
the taxes in the town of Orleans have been re- 
duced from fifteen dollars per thousand to three 
dollars per thousand. This statement was ob- 
tained from the town clerk, who seemed inclined 
to rub his hands with satisfaction over the result. 

34 



Several of the natives said this reduction in taxes 
had happened because of generous impulses on 
the part of the new and wealthy residents to help 
the town, and no doubt this is a fact. One fine 
residence that we saw in the town of Brewster 
merits special attention, and a visit to the town 
by anyone spending a little time on the Cape. Mr. 
Albert Crosby has built a fine house that encircles 
the homestead of his father and mother. The 
rooms and furniture of the old house are in per- 
fect order and Ihe outfit is complete, from the 
kitchen to the parlor. The paper on the walls is 
put on in squares instead of the strips now in 
vogue. It is furnished with solid mahogany bed- 
steads and chairs, and the beds are covered with 
home-made handiwork of Mr. Crosby's mother. 
In the work-rooms the spinning wheel and loom 
are seen; and the old fireplaces with grates for 
burning peat or wood are preserved in their orig- 
inal condition. In the kitchen fireplace is a crane 
to move out or close in over the fire, with kettles 
for cooking hanging suspended, while shovel and 
tongs repose in the corner. In the old days 
stoves were unknown, but at one side there was 
a brick oven (exemplified in the house) to be 
used for baking pork and beans, brown bread 
and other good things. This is where Boston 
got her great reputation for pork and beans — 
from Cape Cod. 

35 



We next examine the closets, and here we find 
pewter spoons, plates, mugs, bowls and platters, 
also dishes imported from China that would 
evoke delight and admiration from a housekeeper. 
The care and attention given to protect these 
heirlooms of the family and keep them in such a 
perfect state of preservation brought to mind 
the Bible command: "Honor thy father and thy 
mother, that thy days may be long upon the land 
which the Lord thy God giveth thee." 

In addition to the old home, with its many val- 
uable relics, Mr. and Mrs. Crosby have placed 
an excellent collection of paintings, marbles and 
bronzes, by both foreign and native artists, in a 
fine buildin;:^ erected for that purpose. This 
building with its contents is enclosed with the 
old home, all under one roof, and furnishes an 
example of filial devotion which is not frequently 
equaled. The Art Hall is filled with statues and 
bronzes and the walls are covered with pictures, 
several hundred in number, selected from the art 
centers of this and other countries by Mr. and 
Mrs. Crosby in their travels. They have made 
this collection with artistic taste and judgment 
and they show generous desire to interest the pub- 
lic and visitors, thus dispensing pleasure and in- 
struction, for they have opened wide the doors 
for free admission to all. 

36 



Eastham now has a fine brick building for a 
town hall, the recent gift of Mr. Timothy Smith, 
a former resident. It is a credit to his generosity 
and is appreciated by the people. The sons of 
Cape Cod do not forget the land of their birth, but 
freely give of their abundance. 

When one is on the Cape, it is a difficult matter 
to keep out of the water, so we turn again to the 
ocean as an object of interest. Every year, in 
the month of September, there appears in Cape 
Cod Bay a large school of grampus or "black 
fish," as they are commonly called. They are 
mammals of the whale species. They come into 
the bay on their way south for winter quarters 
(wherever that may be). In following the bay 
shore they get inside of Billingsgate Point, which 
is a natural trap. They run ashore on the sand 
flats of Eastham or Orleans, as the case may be, 
and are caught fast. This has happened time out 
of mind, and there is no escape, unless, perchance, 
some wise old leader, who has been there before 
and gotten loose, shows them the way. 

Only a few years ago there was discovered a 
bed of quohaugs, seemingly inexhaustible in 
quantity, located in and surrounding Billingsgate 
Point. They are raked up in from ten to forty 
feet of water. There are probably a hundred or 
more motor boats engaged in this business, with 

2,7 



two men to each boat, and it takes strong, able- 
bodied men to do the work. Thousands of bar- 
rels of these bivalves are annually sent to market 
and are generally known as "Little Neck Clams," 
Directly east, about three miles, is Bishop's 
Blufif, in Eastham. The little bay from this line 
includes Wellfleet and its harbor, and Eastham. 
In 1620 the Pilgrim Fathers, seeking a place to 
settle, discovered Indians cooking and eating 
grampus or black fish. A thousand or more of 
these fish are often stranded at one time, in the 
manner previously described. This year (1913) 
four hundred came ashore at Orleans and East- 
ham. They lay on the sand for ten hours, until 
the next flood tide, when they were driven away 
as soon as the water was deep enough for them to 
swim. Being mammals and air-breathing ani- 
mals, it is a question how long they could live 
without water. These black fish, so-called, vary 
from five to thirty-two feet in length, and are 
large in girth in proportion. The matured ones 
are covered on the surface of their bodies with a 
coat of blubber or fat from two to three inches in 
thickness, which was formerly taken and tried 
out for lamp oil, one large fish producing about 
three barrels. The reason they are now driven 
away is that, since Mr. Rockefeller has introduced 
the use of kerosene, the oil they furnish is not 

38 



worth the cost of burying their bodies. Kerosene 
has no competitor on the Cape except electricity, 
which cannot be had everywhere, but in time 
this may come into general use. Kerosene is much 
better than the fish oil or tallow dips, which were 
used long ago. 

The black fish are docile, and not vicious in 
nature like a shark, and seem to express a degree 
of sympathy for each other. When one is hurt 
the school will follow the injured one. They can 
be guided with boats Hke a flock of sheep, not to 
pastures green, but into waters deep, and we 
may call them the lambs of the ocean. In the 
old days this yearly call was hailed with delight 
and believed to be a special providence. Now, 
however, they are not wanted, and are politely 
shown the door for their departure, but still they 
come, seemingly ofifering themselves as a living 
sacrifice when it is not desired. 

Dear friend, if this letter is of interest, it is 
respectfully dedicated to you. 



39 



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